The Parallel universe
by katiwooz
Summary: SPOILER WARNING dont read on if you havent watched The Age Of Steel or the one before that.After watching The Age Of Steel, where the Doctor and Rose are flung into a parallel world, it only makes sense that there is a parallel doctor.
1. Chapter 1

"I am never ever, in my whole life, going there again." Will shut the doors of the TARDIS with a determined "BANG!" Nia simply applied her knowledge to the controls, turning random handles, pulling the levers that kept the TARDIS spinning through time and space.

"You know, if you say that, this lovely thing's just going to take us back out again." Nia mentioned, patting the TARDIS fondly. Will, on finding a chair (listed under L for "Leg-ache? Have a seat!") sat upon it, whilst pushing one hand through his lustrous black hair that formed a sort of halo around his head.

"I suppose you're right." He sighed, plucking at the t-shirt, newly ripped. He had only got that yesterday, on one of his few visits back to his homeland, Earth.

"Of course I'm right. So be quiet." Nia teased her bright red hair so that it fell onto one side of her shoulder, and then continued to play at the controls. Sometimes Will thought that Nia just had a penchant for pushing buttons, and flying the TARDIS had nothing to do with it. But then again, it was her job to be always right (well, most of the time, anyway). She was a Time Lady after all.

THE PARALLEL UNIVERSE

"Will, be a dear and look at where we are."

"Thought that was your job."

"So?" Will sighed, and walked over to the large screen that protruded out of the TARDIS wall. Rather unsightly, will thought, but then again, the TARDIS was no interior decoration masterpiece. It was merely for practical use: good taste and basic feng-shui had nothing to do with it. Glancing upwards, Will immediately recognised the small, bluely-green planet hovering in mid space.

"We're back!"

"Back where?" Nia turned to look at the screen. "Well, that was sooner than expected. Twice in three days- lucky you."

They were hurtling towards Earth. It was the year 2012, the height of human technology. Everything was technical- even the loos started to thank you for using their service and bidding you "Good day!" . John Lucas was the patron of everything that had a plug on the end (and some that didn't). Scientifical advancement was at an all-time high. It would do Will good to visit this era in his home planet's history- even though he himself was born a good five centuries later.

The TARDIS landed with a soft thump. Will was the first to get out, eager to explore, whilst Nia reached for her knee-length, blue, leather-like jacket. She was just about to go out the door, when a terrible screech entered her head. (Imagine static from a microphone. Now add a couple of amps at full volume. Then multiply it by 100. That's one big headache.) The universe was tearing…was ripping itself… then silence.

Dazed, Nia staggered out of the TARDIS, clutching her head with one hand, the other clutching her coat, which dragged along the floor. Will was standing next to a bunch of cardboard boxes: arms folded, the wind whipping his hair to and fro, like stormy seas. He turned around. Noticing something was wrong, he rushed over, lifting Nia's arm over his shoulder to support her.

"What happened?" Will asked, peering into her eyes concernedly. Nia brushed back a lock of hair that had fallen over her face, and spoke in a shaky voice,

"Something happened. Something that should have ripped the universe into shreds. Yet here we are." She stomped on the ground. "No bang, no explosion…nothing… You know its times like these I really love my life." She tapped Will's face playfully, then shoved her arms into her jacket, and smiled broadly. Will, now more worried than ever, simply gave a weak smile back.

"So…where to?"

"Anywhere. Trouble normally finds us, hmm?" Will sighed, the trouble at Minphona springing instantly to mind. Nia found a spot of concrete, shut her eyes determinedly, then started to spin around, finger outstretched. Will could do nothing but laugh. Here was a fully grown woman spinning around like a child who had too many fizzy drinks.

She finally slowed down, ending up pointing down a small alleyway that seemingly led only to another bunch of cardboard boxes.

"Don't you think that's a bit inaccurate?" Asked Will, joining her side.

"Nonsense. Female intuition and all that."

"Of course." Firstly a woman then a Time Lady. But he guessed that applied to most women; the way they always seemed to travel in packs, the way women automatically defended the woman before the man, the way they always thought they were right.

"But I am always right!" Nia smiled, glancing at him. Will forgot that she could read minds. It was inconvenient to say the least, but it had helped them get out of many a tight scrape beforehand.

"Can you not do that?" Will moaned, crossing his arms with a slight protrusion of his lower lip.

"You always look so cute when you're mad." Nia cooed, pecking him on the cheek, making Will turn a blooming shade of pink. "And no. I can't help it…" Will scowled. "Okay, I can help it. You're just so interesting to read though." Will had no choice but to take it as a compliment. "Where were we? Ah yes." Nia strode off towards the alleyway her "feminine intuition" had picked out, Will a step after her.

The street lamps gave out a small "fizz", and lighted themselves. It was now starting to turn dark, and Nia and Will had found nothing. Scarily, they had found, literally, _nothing_. They had not seen a single person since they arrived 2 hours ago.

"I don't like this." Nia muttered, pushing aside a bush.

"That's the millionth time you've said that." Will said, appearing next to her.

"It's the millionth time I've thought it." Nia simply responded. "Let's try that way." She was pointing to yet another alleyway next to a house.

"But it's got a metal gate across it."

"Gates are climbable. And sometimes openable."

CLUNK CLUNK CLUNK. Nia and Will whipped around, staring at the alleyway behind them. Will grabbed Nia's arm, pulling her into some nearby bushes, hidden out of sight. Footsteps running. Yelling.

"Can you hear that?" Will muttered to Nia, who was intently staring at the darkened alleyway.

"Two men. Black. Young. Twins? No. They're not twins…they're the same person." Nia turned round to face Will. "I think we have our problem." She turned back. The metal gate rattled, with frantic yelling. "One's trying to climb over." The clunking stopped. So did the rattling, momentarily, then even more frantic jangling and yelling. Electricity fizzed.

"NOOO!" one of them desperately yelled. Thump.

Nia shot out of the hedge, Will just managing to hang onto her.

"There's nothing we can do…!" he consoled her, pulling the woman back into the hedge and holding her tight. She struggled, but Will held firm. Eventually, the struggling stopped, and she fell into his body.

"I know…"

Footsteps started to run, the clunking faded away into the night.

"After him!" Nia ordered, pointing after the figure running away from the scene, stopping momentarily to look back in anguish.

"We'll never catch him now." Will decided, glancing in the opposite direction, where still a faint clunking could still be heard.


	2. Chapter 2

Last time on the parallel universe...

Footsteps started to run, the clunking faded away into the night.

"After him!" Nia ordered, pointing after the figure running away from the scene, stopping momentarily to look back in anguish.

"We'll never catch him now." Will decided, glancing in the opposite direction, where still a faint clunking could still be heard. "What were they?"

"I…don't know. But it's our job to find out." Nia pulled away from Will, smoothing out her crumpled jacket.

"Which way?"

"I think…that way!" Nia declared, indicating the way that the clunking noise had gone. She outstretched her hand to Will. Taking it, they began to run off down the empty road.

"We're not going to find it." Nia sighed, leaning on a wall.

"We didn't know what we were looking for."

"Didn't we? I thought we were looking for the clunky monsters."

"So we get killed? No thanks. I only have one life, y'know." Nia looked at Will.

"I told you not to bring that up again." After an awkward silence, Nia sighed. "C'mon, let's move on." But as they started to walk away, Will heard a rhythmic clunking noise in the distance. Grabbing Nia's arm, he pushed a finger against his lips.

Clunk…clunk! CLUNK!

Delving into her pockets, Nia grasped a small, flat circle with a small Gallifreyan symbol on. Rushing to a hiding place, Nia and Will waited for the creatures to pass.

"They're metal. With handlebars on top. Bikeatrons?" Will whispered. Nia just looked straight ahead. Taking careful aim, she threw the disc at one of the creatures. It fell to the floor with a metallic clash. The others did not notice. Instead, they strode on, straight past Nia and Will.

"I'll go after them." Will murmured, and, still hidden by the undergrowth, started to follow the metal creatures. Nia stood up from her crouching position, and walked to the lump of metal, who lay straight out in the ground.

"Identify yourself." Nia stated, kneeling down beside the creature.

"I was once the human known as Lucy Harper." The creature responded, its mouthpiece flashing a brilliant blue. Nia leapt up.

"You're not a human! What are you? Identify yourself!" The creature laid still, paralysed on the cold pavement.

"I was once human. Now I am the same."

"Same? Same as what?"

"The others."

"What others?"

"We are all the same. This is the age of steel. We have been upgraded." The headpiece of the creation turned slowly to face Nia. The disc's paralytic energy was wearing off. The mouthpiece flashed again.

"And so must you."

**Okie dokie folks, this is where I start to use my "Artistic licence". None of this would have happened in the real episode(s).**

Will, still hidden under the trees, was jogging at a fast pace.

"These creatures are quicker than they look", he thought to himself, as the beings strided with ease across what seemed like half of London. Finally reaching their destination, the metal men slowed down. Will nearly followed them across a bridge, but looked up just in time to see a huge metal factory at the end of it. Holding onto a branch of a tree, he swung himself back round so he was once again out of sight.

Walking up the gently sloping hill came more figures. They were unlike the metal creatures Will was following: they were much smaller and less noisy. As they passed under a streetlight, Will recognised them as human beings. They were marching in time with a few metal men to escort them. Edging out of the bushes a little, Will caught a glimpse of them passing by. An old woman with grey hair; a middle-aged man in a pinstripe suit; a young girl about his age, with shoulder-length hair and a maid's outfit on. Walking steadily up to join them, he joined the line with ease and started walking with the group. He glanced sideways: next to him was the young girl who he noticed previously. She was attractive; with stunning eyes and beautiful blonde hair. A strand of hair fell in his eyes, but as he moved his arm to brush it away, he caught the girl's eye. Her head twitched sideways, and grabbed his arm to stop it moving.

"You're not one of them?" she hissed, as they split up into two sections that led to different parts of the factory

"Aren't you?" he asked, wondering why no-one spoke, and this girl was so anxious to stop him from moving out of place.

"Of course not!" As they passed a corridor, she marched stiffly down it, dragging Will, still by the arm, with her.

"You haven't got an ear-pod…" she muttered checking his ears.

"Ear pods? What the…?"

"The things that are making all these people turn into…these… zombies."

"And those metal men?"

"What? The cybermen?"

"Is that what they're called?" She loosened her grip on his arm.

"Why don't you have one of these?" She took a small, headphone-shaped thing out of her ear.

"What are they?" She snapped her head up to look at him.

"You're not from around here, are you?"

"Well…"Will pulled a face, trying to quickly formulate a plan.

"You're an alien?"

"What…? No, no, I'm not an alien."

"You're human?" Will nodded. The girl backed off slightly, and leant against the other side of the corridor.

"Let's go, before they catch us." She said, this time grabbing his hand. "Oh!" she turned around to face him. "I'm Rose, by the way."

"Will."

"Ooh, dejá vú!" she muttered, peering round the corner.


	3. Chapter 3

Pushing one hand towards Will, she made a thumbs up. Will's arm jerked forward and they were running through the factory, the cyber people things turning towards them, hands outstretched. Will started to feel faint. Running was not his forte, especially when it came down to fleeing from advancing metal men.

They flew past the corridors, passing tank by tank, where humans still stood lined up, not turning, not talking, with any apparent emotion at all. Rose gripped his arm, skimming past the cybermen that tried to grab hold of them, twisting this way and that, evading the deadly metal arms that stretched out as they passed.

Finally, they reached the gate without being caught by the cybermen. Luckily for Rose and Will, cybermen weren't that quick on the uptake. Will started to slow down, pausing for breath.

"No! We've got to carry on!" Rose insisted, pulling his arm away from the scene. Will sighed. How did he get into scrapes like this? Not that he wasn't enjoying every second of it. It was simply the constant running away from danger he disliked.

Nia jumped up.

"What do you mean, upgrade?"

"We are upgraded." The machine said, jerking her head, her fingers beginning to twitch. _Run away, run away!_ Yelled the voice in Nia's head._ For once, do what Will would do, and go!_ But that wasn't Nia.

"You're human… but now you're like this." Disgust swelled in Nia's voice. "What on _Earth_ thinks it has the right to do this to you?" Before the, previously human, machine could answer, they were rudely interrupted. The buzzing in Nia's head began again… A man, maybe in his twenties was running towards them. He was yelling, but Nia couldn't hear him properly. The metal woman arm started to jerk softly. Nia was looking puzzedly at the man approaching. Without as much as a sound, the arm started to creep towards Nia's ankle. Nia stretched her ears. She couldn't hear him. The buzzing grew louder. As soon as the man was within touching distance, the buzzing was quietening down. He roughly pushed Nia aside, and whipped a blue torch out of his pocket. Nia immediately recognised the device as something certainly not human, but she couldn't trace its origins. The only suggestion her mind came up with was impossible. The cyberman lay still, all twitching stopped.

"Who are…?" Nia began, but the man simply grabbed her arm, and ran.

After a while, they came to a small cave, out of sight of everything (and everyone). The man went inside, and lit a small fire with his blue torch. Indicating a seat, the man simply stared into the fire. Nia edged into the mossy cave, sitting down cross-legged and glanced at the man.

"So where are you from?" He asked quietly, still looking into the fire. "And why have you given Lucas the cybermen." Nia could sense a tone of distaste in his voice.

"Cybermen? Is that what they're called?"

"Don't play innocent with me." The anger in his voice was rising.

"How can I play innocent with you if I don't have the faintest clue what you're talking about!" Nia stood up, indignant. His head snapped up to look at her.

"Good, just checking." He said cheerfully, a manic smile appearing on his face. "Now would you mind telling me who you are, where you're from, and why on earth you are here." Nia eyed him suspiciously. Here was a man, who she didn't know, without any apparent fashion sense (c'mon, trainers with pinstripes?) **the above statement is _not _mine, in fact I think he looks rather cool.** and was asking her to reveal something she was very protective of. But the buzzing in her head seemed to urge her on. This man was some kind of trickster, with his mind tricks. But that only made her feel easier to relate to him.

"Okay. I'll start from the beginning. Firstly, my name is Nia."

"The Doctor." The man interrupted. Nia glared at him, and he glanced back down, like a child who was getting told off.

"And… my friend, Will, who I travel with, have arrived at Earth in my lovely time machine" The Doctor snapped his head up.

"Time machine? You mean… a machine that travels through time?" he asked, edging closer to her.

"Well…what other type of Time Machine is there?" The Doctor stood up, and stood half a metre away from Nia. Freaked out, she edged back.

"And what's it called?" he asked, peering into her ice blue eyes.

"The…the…TARDIS." she stuttered, now getting scared. The Doctor leapt back.

"YES!" he yelled, flinging both his arms into the air. "Ingenious!" He laughed, and bounded over to Nia, inches away from her face. He flicked his eyes excitedly up and down her, ending in sweeping her up into an enormous hug. Slightly stiffening, Nia began to warily push the man away from her. But before she could put this into action, the Doctor had relaxed back into his normal pose: hands in pockets with a cheeky grin on his face. Grinning, he asked.

"You still don't understand?" Nia shook her head, feeling that this "Doctor" person was, in fact, a loony. The Doctor grinned absurdly and, still hands in pockets, laughed out loud. "Don't you hear it?" he asked, removing a hand to cup next his ear.

"The ringing?" Nia asked, edging closer to the man.

"Interstellar commotion." He replied, looking at the ceiling. "It's that noise that gives us, the taste for danger, if you will."

"Us?" Nia thought she might as well have not said anything, as the Doctor simply kept on talking.

"Yup. It's that noise that tells us something isn't right." He was speaking quietly now, almost to himself. Nia glanced at him cautiously. Could it be…? But before she could continue her thought, the Doctor, once more, butted in. "And this isn't right. I'm not supposed to be here." He started pacing around, still with that insane grin. "When I landed here, with my friend Rose," Nia snapped her head to face the Doctor. There was another one? Sensing her mood, the Doctor carried on. "No, she's not one of us. Us. Feels so weird after all this time…" He trailed off, leaving Nia to prompt him. Nudging him, he continued. "We fell through a hole, a hole in time, a hole in the universe." He turned towards Nia, their faces an inch apart. "And we landed here." He said quietly, gazing into Nia's eyes. After holding his stare for a few seconds, Nia glanced down, and stood back.

"So… I'm… you?"

"Oh no." the Doctor said, spinning around to face the wall. "No, no, no no no." it sounded like he almost found it amusing.

"But…if you're from the other side of the universe, the parallel to mine, then, surely…"

"Not necessarily. We are, in fact two entirely different beings. Just… I'm on this side… you're on the other." He glanced up to find Nia sitting down.

"So… I'm not alone." She said, the emotion beginning to swell in her voice.

"No." the Doctor said, moving to sit next to Nia. She leant her head to rest on his shoulder. _I'm not alone, I'm not alone anymore,_ she thought, and she could feel her eyes watering. After all these years, after all these years alone, she had found him.


End file.
